Author
Topic: A New World (Read 4970 times)

Trying another story game. It'll be more linear this time. The choices made will have less of an effect on how the plot goes, but more of an effect on how you're treated throughout it.

A collection of random thoughts, fragments of memory, brief images of a life long ago; Flying by. He had stopped noticing them, had mentally curled up into a foetal position. He wished he remembered who he was. Was it him? The man in the memories? If so, where was he now? Cold. He remembered cold. He was... cold. Darkness all around him. He wanted to scream, to shout, to beg, anything to get out of this coffin. “Hello?!” The words shocked him. He had opened his mouth and shouted before even remembering how. “Let me out! Let! Me! Out!” He underlined each word by banging on the walls around him. He was in a fairly snug container, 7 feet tall, 3 feet across and 2 feet wide. The walls were a dull grey metal, not rusty, surprisingly clean. Weird, where was the dust? Skin flakes are dust, right? He didn’t remember how he knew that.

“I don’t want to stay here! I can’t stay here! The world has gone wrong, no one does anything anymore! You don’t do anything anymore!” “Can’t you stay here for me? For the kids? We don’t want you to leave us!” “Don’t you understand? I don’t love you anymore! The kids are all rude little brats, just like everyone else their age today! All they care about are the screens they stare at all day, or our next vacation, or who to **** next! When was the last time they went outside? When was the last time YOU went outside?” “You know we can’t-“ “Can’t or won’t?” “Just stay with me please we’ll make this work I’M BEGGING YOU! Stay with me?” “I can’t!” “Can’t or won’t!?”

More memories were coming. Vivid ones, first person. He had left, he was here willingly. Why had he left? He had loved someone. “Good morning Mr. Hara, it has been 198 years since last you were conscious. How are you feeling? Any severe memory loss? Motor functions normal?” The voice rang through his chamber, though he couldn’t see any speakers. It was a female voice, with no hint of emotion, but not like those computers. It was a real voice. You could always tell. “Can you tell me where I am? Will you let me out?” “Memory loss then. Just relax, Mr. Hara, it’ll come to you... sooner or later. In the meantime, you’ve been rented.” “Rented?” “On a contract, Mr. Hara. Our client read your book on panspermia and xenobiological studies. He thinks we may have use for you. Just say the word and we’ll have you out of that nasty box and into bed. I know how exhausting Deep Freeze can be. What’ll it be Mr. Hara? Adventure or another 200 years in a tin can?”

“Are you feeling okay? Tell you what, don’t answer now. Just sleep for a while. I’ll send a medic in later to make sure you’re okay. We can always erase your memory of this whole ordeal later, if you choose to return to deep freeze...” The wall before him opened smoothly and quietly, revealing a very pleasant bedroom, lit by ambient yellow lights and with a slight smell of roses. The bed was massive and fluffy, and he suddenly realized how tired he was. Eager for sleep, he steps out of the box- -And collapses to the shag carpet. “A little disorientation is to be expected, Mr. Hara. Just give it a moment.” He breathed deeply, collecting himself. His muscles hadn’t atrophied; they just felt weaker than he remembered. He tried again, and found it easy. The bed was 3 feet away, 2, 1. Sleep now.

“So I’ll wake up in a thousand years, with several billion dollars worth of interest in my wallet? This seems to perfecto be true.”

“Not at all, Hara. Although the government does take a 20% cut on Freezers’ accounts, and of course, there’s our 30%-“

“Yes, yes, anything. And I won’t be disturbed? I won’t be woken up in 300 years to sign some trillionaires autograph?”

“No no, we’ll make sure of that Hara. In fact, I wager that in only 100 years you’ll be completely and totally...

Forgotten.”

It seemed like he had been sleeping for years, but only now was it peaceful. Cleansing, even. He woke up feeling reinvigorated. Ready for anything. He hopped out of bed and looked around the room. The box was gone; it had seemingly been placed in the centre of the room while he was still in it. The room was cream coloured with darker brown accents. Very comfortable. A large window displayed a beach, palm trees rustling in the wind, waves washing up onto the shore. He could almost feel the sea spray. But was it a window? Best to assume not, he thought. Always assume the worst and you’ll always be happy. There was a desk, and a shelf full of books, and a couch facing the window (must be a screen then) Everything you’d expect in a master bedroom. The door was opposite him, no card scanners or eye readers, not even a keyhole. They trusted him. And just as he turned away, he heard the door slide open. “Parley too Mediterr?” A deep, gruff voice called. Hara turned, shocked, to see a 6 foot tall muscular black man, grinning down at him. You could see every gleaming white tooth in his mouth. He was wearing scrubs that were clearly a size too small, and was holding an unfamiliar gadget that looked medical.

“...What?” “No worries, no worries. Just detent auf le bed there, let ik see too’s chest?” The man took Hara’s arm and pulled him back to bed, before Hara could resist. He pushed him down so he lay belly up, and lifted up Hara’s shirt.

“May sting un peu.”

“Sting?! AH!” The strange doctor had jammed a 3 inch needle into Hara’s belly button. His device made several whistles and beeps.

They walked past a large window and Hara got a brief view of a half constructed ships hull. It wasn't familiar in any way, and neither was the company Astronimus for that matter.

"Ik vais take you to see Isha, she is un une dan charge of too, bien?" Hara nodded.

They stopped at a massive oak door, which was strangely contrasted against the bare metal walls and fluorescent lights of the hall. Morry leaned forward, and knocked rapidly 3 times. Almost immediately, the door flew open. Inside was a young woman wearing a business suit. She'd clearly been expecting them. She was sitting on an armchair a few feet from the door, a bottle of water in her left hand, a digital clipboard in her right.

"Hara, I presume. Thank you for bringing him Morry, you can go." Morry grinned and nodded, pushing Hara in and closing the door behind him. Hara recongized the voice, she had been the one to wake him.

"Please excuse him, I know he can be, well, pushy." The right corner of her mouth turned up slightly. "I realize you might find him a tad incomprehensible. A lot has changed in the 198 years you've been gone, Hara. Not just borders, philosophies, cultures, even media. Morry is from Mediterranea, a relatively new nation resulting from what you knew as the Southern European Union." She flicked her head towards a map on the wall, the continents were made up by differently coloured, newly unrecognizable shapes. Hara also noticed how the whole map was criss-crossed by silver lines.

"Morry might have mentioned that we can't divulge our location, not just yet. Purely foresight, actually. In case you decide to return to deep freeze, we wouldn't want to set you off with knowledge of one of our secret facilities..."

"You haven't even told me why I'm here yet."

"Oh yes, yes! Very sorry. I mentioned how you were chosen for your knowledge of xenobiology? Yes, well we may have discovered something quite relevant. 3 months ago, one of our ships went missing while in orbit around an uncharted planet. Of course, the owner of said ship went crying to us about faulty navigational equipment. We reimbursed them for their financial losses, of course, but not before sending a probe to attempt to retrieve the ship's black box off the surface of the planet. It was never found, but we did find something else, quite shocking."

She placed her digital clipboard on the coffee table before here, and pressed a button on the side. The room dimmed, and a shocking array of brightly coloured lights flew out of the clipboard screen. The lasers danced incomprehensibly for a moment, before arranging themselves into a clear image, filling the centre of the room.

A bright blue sphere, dotted with lighter blue and green spots. Swirling white feathers obscuring much of the surface. It was a planet, maybe 85% ocean, what few land it had was in the form of archipelagos covered in multicoloured foliage. A smaller red orb came into view by the planet's horizon, and the surface began to light up. A red sun.

"Mr. Hara. We may have discovered the first case of true extraterrestrial life. Our intent should be simple from here. We plan to go there, to claim glory as the first humans to make the connection with a new civilization... or if there isn't one, to claim new land in the name of humanity. It would be foolish to leave without an expert in such a field as yours. Of course, if the newfound place in the history books wouldn't be enough, we'd be prepared to offer a minor cash payoff."

She leaned forward again, shutting off the projection. Hara noticed he'd been staring slackjawed, transfixed by the beauty.

"You can't just... You can't just wake me up from a 200 year nap to ask me to go on some research mission, expecting me to agree after telling me barely anything! Where am I? What's Astronimus? Who's going?"

"Yes, yes, your curiosity is understandable. I'll start with the easy questions first. When you left us 198 years ago, it was the golden age of space exploration. 5 new companies were founded every day, each one loftier than the last, each one promising that their technology would further advance us, help us reach out further, for resources, for knowledge, for adventure! Wishful thinking. Truth is, only the most successful lasted even 50 years. Space isn't just harsh, it's expensive. Terribly expensive. Over time, companies went bankrupt or bought each other, or changed their priorities. Astronimus is the result of 7 different companies medling together over the course of 150 years. We're in direct competition with only 2 others now: UNSED and Virgin Space." She grinned. "But they don't know about or little secret."

A memory flashed by.

"Hold on... I payed extra for no contracts. Yeah! I was meant to wake up in a thousand years, almost instantaneously. I had the money to pay for the whole deal, no rentals required. I signed stuff!"

"Ah, yes. Minor problem there. The corporation in charge of your deep freeze went bust about 3 months ago. Something about a scandal, let's just say some poor woman was... repeatedly rented. People were withdrawing their relatives left right and center. Stock plummeted.

But there was no one for you, Hara. You were one of the 227 souls to remain in cold storage in a privately funded government facility. We had to jump over a lot of hurdles to acquire you, Mr. Hara. Fill a lot of pockets. In fact, for all intents and purposes, we own you."

He sat back down, seething. Isha just kept smiling. For the first time, Hara actually looked at her. She was of asian descent, her dark hair tied back tightly into a bun. She couldn't have been much older than 25, but she clearly knew her way around a business, her office backed her up on that. All oak and steel, you'd swear it was the 2200s. It was fairly underfurnished though, which was weird. Back in Hara's time, clutter had been the style.

"Hara? Head in the clouds?"

He snapped back. Isha was looking expectantly at him.

"Yes, yes... Well, I think I've heard enough for now. I must be dozing off."

"I'll let you go back to your room right after you tell me; Is it a yes? Will you come with us?"

Hara didn't even need to consider. He'd been fooling himself. The answer had always been -

"Yes."

Isha instantly sprang up, extending her head.

"Your current position as our... guest, makes bureaucracy unnecessary. A yes is all we needed."

Hara took her hand.

"It's good to have you Hara, welcome aboard."

* I was really tempted to write "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!" here.

Yeah, I noticed I didn't update it, but what would there have been to vote on anyway?

17 today, 17 today. His son was 17 today! Did he even know?

Hara was sitting in a sandy courtyard surrounded by high walls. Occasionally a researcher or guard or executive would pass him by, heading to their next destination. They were leaving in 2 days. The crew needed time to prepare the ship and say goodbye to their families; The journey itself would take 2 months, but it would just be a fleeting moment in deep freeze.

The sky was a cloudless blue, the sun beating down on Hara's back. It felt like his bones were only thawing out now, and it felt good.

"Jon?"

He was awake all right. Hooked up to a VR stream. Hara often wondered what Jon was up to in that virtual world he spent so much time in, but he knew it would be unwise to try and find out. His wife Dani peeked around the door, watching as Hara tiptoed his way towards his son.

A hand on Jon's shoulder.

"Son, don't you want to celebrate your birthday with your family?"

After the briefing, Hara had been formally introduced to Morry. He would be the crew's doctor, and when they reached the unnamed planet, he would accompany them. Isha had given Hara an English-Mediterrane reference dictionary. It turned out Isha was a linguist, first in her class. She learned as many languages as her biological brain could hold, then had cerebral implants to learn more. She was currently learning Irish, her 46th. She would be travelling with them too.

Finally there was Ronan, the captain of the ship and expedition. He seemed to take his job incredibly seriously, and they'd only had about 5 minutes to talk, before Ronan had to rush off to "supervise recalibration of the fusion generators." At least it was good to know there'd be someone who knew how to use a firearm.

"Huh?" He woke as if he'd been sleeping, watery eyes fluttering open. The second he noticed his father standing over him, his expression changed to anger.

"I told you not to wake me up! Don't wake me up!"

"It's just that you've been plugged in all week, and we wondered if you knew it was your birthday!"

The term didn't phase him, as if he didn't recognize it. He just turned, preparing to re-enter the virtual world. Hara jumped forward to stop him from pressing the "on" button again. All Jon saw was his father lunging at him, and responded in turn. He attempted to hit back, but his atrophied muscles only managed a few weak slaps. It was enough to get the message across. Hara just stared at him, his breathing intensifying. Quick as a flash, he grabbed the small machine that connected you to the VR Net, and threw it against the wall.

"I won't let you do this to us anymore! You hear me? No more spending months lying on your back, drooling onto your shirt! Your mother and I bought you that stupid machine to make you happy, and all it did was steal you from us! No more! You're going to celebrate your birthday with us, and you're going to LIKE IT!"

Everyone went quiet. His son's gaze was alternating between him and the broken machine on the floor. His face went red, and a few tears rolled down his cheek. He looked back at his father, and it was the single most dirtiest look one human being had ever given to another. It would be burned into Hara's memory forever. Jon just slowly stood up and backed out the right, not taking his eyes off his father until he reached the door. Once he left the room, Hara could hear his footsteps thumping down the stairs, and then the door slamming.

That was the last time he had seen his oldest son, 199 years ago.

"Hara? Ronan and I are going to lunch and, well, I realized you didn't really get a chance to talk to him before. Would you like to come?" Isha gave her signature grin, helping Hara off the bench he'd been sitting on. "Consider it a business meeting."

Reminder that I'm trying to make every choice have some kind of (probably minor) impact on the way characters treat you, and to a lesser degree, how smoothly the story goes. Every choice, no matter how seemingly minor, will have some effect.

This update is pretty long, and doesn't come with any choices. I realized there'd be points where it'd be impossible to create a meaningful choice. It's either no choices, or some kind of dumb unimportant one.

Also, all of these updates are more or less first drafts. I write 'em and post 'em. I think writing is kind of hit and miss with me, mostly misses imo. I've always thought I spend far too much time following a rigid structure of conversation then action then conversation, without any kind of memorable prose. Anyway, I'd like more constructive criticism. It's why I'm here.

WARNING: Simply awful description ahead. Oh my.

"Sorry. I've been planning to take a look at the ship we'll be travelling on." Hara smiled apologetically, but it was just a hollow smile. He was still annoyed about being awoken early and being "owned." It was all for the adventure.

"I understand." Isha dug into her purse and pulled out her clipboard. "It's been 200 years." She continued, tapping away at the bright transparent screen. "I know I'd be excited, seeing all the advanced technology. You'll get all the time you want to explore the ship and our many other little gadgets. I promise." The clipboard made a sudden chirping noise. "There, full security clearance. Enjoy yourself." She returned his smile and went back to her walk.

Isha was weird, Hara had decided. She always seemed to be happy about something, like she was the happiest woman on earth. No one could be that blissful going through life.

He shrugged it off and glanced at his watch, it was just 1pm. Time to explore the space ship of the future.

The facility was full of screens, all over the walls, placed as if they were paintings. Normally Hara had just acknowledged them as part of the scenery, but today every one he passed by switched on, displaying "HARA: TURN LEFT IN 20M" or "CONTINUE AND TAKE SECOND RIGHT." It was unnerving, but their directions took him right to a door labeled "Launch Pad A3E7" which slid open almost as soon as Hara could see it.

The room inside was cavernous, maybe 6 stories tall and equally wide. Taken up most of the available space was a massive ship. It was a giant sphere about 60 meters around, made up of overlapping metal sheets, strangely resembling scales or roof tiles. They radiated from a large circular white light of the sphere about a meter diameter facing Hara, and presumably the opposite side as well, creating a sort of flower or eye appearance, where the sheets all met and bent outwards. At the top of the sphere, two protrusions emerged and extended in both directions. At it's thickest, right where they broke from the sphere, the protrusions were about 2 meters. They both tapered down to a flat horizontal edge. One was far longer than the other, with a 6 meter long glass window covering the front. The other (presumably the back of the ship) seemed to exist only to protect a long strip of exhaust pipes and jets and machinery, sticking out from the sphere. Engineers dotted the surface of the hull, welding or taking readings, althrough overall it looked finished.

The whole ship was quite a contrast to the interstellar ships of Hara's day. They'd all been made up of a mesh of carbon nanotubes protecting some machinery and a long habitable cyclinder which rotated fast enough to create 1 G of gravity on the inner surface. This new ship looked far less cramped.

One of the metal sheets appeared to unhinge itself and open downwards, revealing an entrance to the interior. Hara peeked in, unsure if the entrance was for him.

//Hello Hara, welcome to the Mayflower. I was told to expect your visit.//

Lights in the entrance corridor flickered on, revealing how unfinished the ship really was. The right wall of the corridor was all done, similar to the corridors of the Astronimus facility. All smooth white metal. None of the panels were placed on the left wall, and the wires drooping from the ceiling and wall reminded Hara a little of jungle vines. He stepped in and the door immediately swung shut again.

//You must think I am a terrible host! My name is Christopher Jones, I am the pilot and navigator, but am also equipped to deal with any of the ship's functions should a member of the human crew fail to do so. Unfortunately the ship's main entrance is being uncooperative, so I must direct you through a service corridor. Please hurry ahead.//

The voice was slightly masculine, but accentless. It spoke like a butler welcoming guests. Funny, 200 years ago it would have been insanity to place your trust with a machine for a pilot. It always took a while to people to get accustomed to new technology, he guessed. Hara did as he was instructed and took a walk. The corridor continued before turning a hard right. It opened onto a larger, finished corridor. Oddly enough, every wall, ceiling and floor from here on seemed to be about 2.5 meters wide.

//The ship has been constructed with every possibility in mind. Should the pull of gravity change direction due to machine error, I am quite capable of rearranging furniture and even doorways to suit the crews needs. Moving swiftly on, I believe you have recently come out of deep freeze? You should be delighted to hear that modern cryogenic technology has erased the chance of any temporary brain damage that you may have suffered. I promise you are in capable hands. Do you want me to show you to your quarters?"

"I... uh..." Before Hara could respond, a panel of the wall slid open, releaving a fairly generic looking service droid. Humanoid, white with black and red accents. An astronimus logo adorning its chest. It had one large red eye in the center of its face. Again, it seemed slightly masculine, possibly only because it had been built without breast or wide hips, most likely for economic reasons. This time, Christopher Jones' voice came from the droid itself.

//Please come this way. Would you like to hold my hand?// The droid attempted to take Hara's hand, but he stepped away, a little freaked out.

//I am sorry. Tests have shown that when taking on a humanoid appearance, AIs are more trustworthy if they create an image of innocence. I was attempting to create an image of innocence.//

They wondered the ship for a good hour or so. There was so much to see. Most of the ship’s innards were subtly built on thousands of different panels that could be rearranged instantaneously. Many rooms were spherical with furniture on all walls. Apparently, after a method of defeating anti-gravity had invented, it made sense to keep the space saving principles of anti-gravity. Hara’s “quarters” were a tiny room near the centre of the ship. Just a bed recessed into the floor, a screen on the wall, and a cryo chamber, which looked far more high tech than his old one.They were in the cockpit, the strangest room of the ship by far. It wasn’t tall enough to stand in, only about 2 meters. However it was a good 10 meters wide. The floors, walls and ceiling were all made of dark tinted glass. It was one of the only rooms in the ship anti-gravity would remain. The design ensured a pilot could see and reach controls all the way around him. Christopher Jones and Hara were lying down. The robot wouldn’t shut up about every minor aspect of the ship, and ignored Hara’s constant requests to be left alone. Hara was staring through the floor, at the engineers and drones making changes and calibrations down below.//I read your book by the way. Or, I was born having read it. Whichever you prefer. Very insightful. My favourite chapter was the one on potential sensory organs not seen in earth animals. Speaking of sensory organs, did you know I can see the entire spectrum of light? The ship’s sensors can too. Don’t worry, you’re not missing anyth-//“I think that’s enough, Christopher. Please go sync with the ship and do some scans or something.” It was Isha. She had come up behind them without making a sound. Christopher obediently nodded his head and crawled backwards to the main body of the ship.“I must have asked him 50 times.” Hara mumbled.“I think he likes you.”“Oh great, fanbots.”“Ronan wants a word. He’s in the control center.”The control center was the hub of the ship, located at the top of the ship’s sphere body, close to the cockpit entrance. The name was somewhat misleading. Far from the expected jumble of computers and buttons, it was a pristine black and white room laden with windows and leather couches. Ronan was reclining on a large circular couch. He looked about 60, with graying hair and tanned skin. His skin looked like it had been tightened by a plastic surgeon. He reminded Hara of an action movie star.“Hara, sorry we haven’t had time to talk! Been very busy.” He had a strong American accent.“I hadn’t noticed.”“Hah! Okay, so here’s the dealio. HQ is putting pressure on us to leave early, and by early I mean today. In a few hours. Maybe not even, actually. As soon as the engineers are done. Where was I? Oh right. Yeah, so I haven’t put out a formal reply, I’m just waiting for you to okay this. It’s not like you have anything to pack, right? Hah!”Isha had sat down beside Ronan, and it appeared to be her turn to speak.“Of course, there are some risks on leaving now. We won’t have time to complete our secondary and tertiary scans, which could leave us open to currently unknown dangers. We might need another 2 or 3 days. Everyone else seems okay with this, but Ronan wants everyone on board.”“Everyone!”Christopher’s voice rang through the ship. //I think it’s unwise, Hara. I can tell it’s there’s still some problems with the ship lying around.//“So what’ll it be?”

"Alright, let's do it." To be honest, I wasn't completely sure how much my input really mattered. I'd been looking forward to leaving ever since the briefing, but I guess they woulda left regardless of what I said.

"Wonderful! I have to go inform the crew. Christopher, pack up the droids."

//Fine Ronan, but don't let my objections go unnoted.//

Within only half an hour, the ship suddenly buzzed into life. All remaining scaffolding had simply collapsed itself and wheeled away, most of the droids had folded themselves up and tucked themselves into compartments, and the crew was busying themselves switching on and preparing all the electronics.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned to see a droid with a large hiking rucksack on it's back.

//Hara, it's Christopher. I need to give you something.// He slid the rucksack off his shoulders and gave it to me. It was clearly new, a silvery white colour and branded with the Astronimus logo like everything else.

//Complimentary luggage, everything you'll need is in there. Please open it in private, the ground team gets all the cool things and everyone will want them.// Christopher had a surprisingly natural voice, and he didn't seem confined to clear cut, emotionless English like all the simpler AIs I'd met.

I wandered the corridors for a while, peeking through open doors. A lot of them were private quarters for the crew that wouldn't be entering cryo, or different control rooms. I found Morry sitting in an observation room, though we hadn't left the ground yet. He turned and beckoned to me.

"Hallo Hara. Ik wants too to regarde un view with ik. Well, not now. C'est plus impressive when noos takes off, un ground falling away." His eyes were staring into the middle distance out the window expectantly, and I sat down beside him. I like to think I was beginning to understand him at that point.

//Everyone is on board, take off zone is clear, and system checks are complete. No point in a countdown, it'll just waste time. Up we go!"

"Allons-y!" Morry cried.

Suddenly the whole ship started humming, and as Hara watched, the ceiling of the large room the ship had been contained in seemed to evaporate, revealing the bright blue sky above. The ship took off without any additional noise, the ground appearing to fall away, just as Morry described. I was glad I didn't miss it.

At first I just saw the base in it's entirety, a campus made up of 5 large buildings and a multitude of smaller ones. Then I saw a beach, and a forest, and eventually I could see whole islands, and the world stretched out below. We were in the Philippines. I thought to myself. Soon the island we left was just a dot, and I could see all of China and Russia below, and the stars above.

"This is my third time in space." I mumbled to Morry. He just nodded and kept staring out the window.

After about 20 minutes of drifting in orbit, I left for the cockpit. The gravity had left and now I could see the cockpit as it was intended. Ronan hovered comfrtoably in the centre front, where the ceiling was lowest. The glass around him was covered in bright, complex controls and charts.

"Hello Ronan." I said.

"Hara, just in time to see the first bang!"

"What do you mean?"

"In about 20 seconds we'll be out of the solar system, we're hopping to the Oort cloud first."

"We can do that in a matter of seconds?"

"Sure we can, just watch! Christopher, initiating Fusion Bang."

//Engine's been waiting for the last 20 minutes Ronan, let's go. Everyone, hold on to something... Just in case.//

There was a pause... Then, BOOM! An intense white light briefly blinded me, and a sound like a sonic boom reverberated through the ship. I instinctively slammed my eyes shut, even though I'd already gotten the worst of it.

I noticed that I suddenly started drifting towards the right side of the cockpit, and opened my eyes.

"Woah." We were surrounded by asteroids and dust that seemed to extend forever in all directions. It was much darker now, light was getting in through a few gaps in the cloud of rocks, where I could see the stars.

"The good news is, we're now incredibly far away from the Earth" Ronan said. "The bad news is, we'll need to do that twice daily for about 2 months. We call it skimming; Bouncing through space from one point to the next."

It was a little unfortunate that this had to be my first experience beyond the solar system. I'd have liked to feel more excited but... In the end, it was just a bunch of rocks. I spoke up after a few minutes.

"Well! This has been nice and all, but I think I'll be off." Ronan didn't acknowledge me, engrossed in reading graphs and occasionally murmuring something to Christopher.